LEIF ERICSSON 7 



And it may have been Leif 's intention to follow this, 

 but in all probability he lost his way through stormy 

 weather. 



Ever since the stories relating to these discoveries 

 became generally known through the writings of Arn- 

 grim Jonsson the Learned'" and of Thormod Torf- 

 ason"^ many theories have been advanced as to the 

 position of the countries where Leif found the plants 

 mentioned above. The consensus of opinion seems to 

 be that he landed on the east coast of North America, 

 somewhere within the region of wild grapevines, that 

 is not farther north than New Brunswick, nor farther 

 south than Maryland. It seems most probable that 

 he came ashore somewhere on the coast of New 

 England (Fig. 5). 



The Saga says explicitly that Leif saw more than 

 one country. Possibly he came within sight of Nova 

 Scotia and Newfoundland as he was driven south- 

 ward by the storm. In all probability the gale was 

 from the north and northeast and, therefore, the 

 boat was not out of heavy seas until it passed the south- 

 ern extremity of Nova Scotia. Afterward Leif prob- 

 ably sighted the shores of New England on the 

 starboard side and sought to land there. The only 



^^ Gronlandta edur Grcenlands saga, Skalholt, 1688. 

 "^"^ Historia VinlandicB antiqucBy etc., Copenhagen, 1705, and Gron- 

 landta antiqua, etc., Copenhagen, 1706. 



